Taxes: kinds, who collects them and what they pay for

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Maple Hollow's budget (an invented town; cards A to C). Card A, the town's yearly spending, $12 million in all: schools $5.4 million, roads $2.4 million, police and fire $2.4 million, parks and library $1.2 million, other costs $0.6 million. Card B, where the money comes from: property tax $7.2 million, sales tax $3.6 million, fees for permits and pools $1.2 million. Property tax is charged to people who own land and buildings; sales tax is added to purchases made in town. Card C, two statements about a plan to raise the property tax bill of every owner by 5 percent. The mayor's letter, written to ask voters to approve the plan, says the schools need new buses. A residents' group flyer, written to ask voters to reject it, says homeowners on small incomes are already stretched.

2. 1.

   Why was the mayor's letter written, and what does that mean for how to read it, Ari asks?

   • To report the budget facts without taking any side on the plan
   • To win votes for the plan, so it makes the case for the plan
   • To list the town's spending and income for the record
   • To share a view that a historian should set aside as biased
3. 2.

   The schools get $5.4 million of the $12 million budget. What share of spending is that, Bo asks?

   • 45 percent
   • 5.4 percent
   • 54 percent
   • 20 percent
4. 3.

   A student says, "Card C proves most Maple Hollow homeowners oppose the plan." How strong is that claim, Jun asks?

   • Strong: a flyer from a residents' group speaks for most of the town
   • Strong: the mayor's letter and the flyer both ask voters to reject the plan
   • Weak: card C holds one group's flyer, with no count of homeowners
   • Weak: a flyer is written to persuade, so it cannot be used as evidence
5. 4.

   Property tax brings in $7.2 million of the town's $12 million. What share of the town's money is that, Kira asks?

   • 40 percent
   • 72 percent
   • 30 percent
   • 60 percent
6. 5.

   Whose point of view does the flyer on card C speak for, Luz asks?

   • School bus drivers, who would lose work if the plan failed
   • Homeowners on small incomes, who feel stretched by their bills
   • Shop owners, who add the sales tax to what shoppers buy
   • The whole town, since a property tax bill reaches each household
7. 6.

   If voters approve the plan, what happens first to a homeowner, Milo asks?

   • The homeowner's fees for permits and pools stop
   • The homeowner's sales tax at the store goes up by 5 percent
   • The homeowner's property tax bill goes up by 5 percent
   • The schools have new buses, with no waiting for the money to come in
8. 7.

   A home's property tax bill is $3,000. The plan raises it by 5 percent. How much more does the owner pay, Noah asks?

   • $1,500
   • $150
   • $15
   • $3,150
9. 8.

   What would best test the flyer's claim that homeowners on small incomes are stretched, Pia asks?

   • No evidence could test it, since a flyer is just an opinion
   • A price list for the new school buses that the mayor wants to buy
   • Records of homeowners' incomes and tax bills over several years
   • A second flyer from the same group saying the same thing
10. 9.

    Card A's spending is $12 million and card B's income is $12 million. What does that show, Tala asks?

    • Balanced: the town plans to spend the $12 million it takes in
    • Taxes bring in the whole $12 million, with nothing else added
    • The town is saving $12 million for next year to spend on roads
    • The town must borrow $12 million to pay its bills this year
11. 10.

    The plan pays for school buses by raising owners' bills. What trade-off does the flyer point to, Zee asks?

    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay less
    • Roads gain money while schools lose money
    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay more
    • Shoppers gain money while shop owners pay less sales tax